Chapter 2881: Recollection Extra 05

After making a full circle, Jin Chen and Lu Jun swaggered out, leaving the Earth God's Hall under everyone's watchful eyes.

Then they quietly took a detour, sneaked back through the back door, and hid behind the artificial hill outside the Treasure Pavilion.

"Wait," Jin Chen said. "Once the thief hears the news, he'll definitely take advantage of the chaos to strike."

Lu Jun nodded, and the two held their breath, focusing, beginning to keep watch.

Waiting and waiting.

A quarter hour passed, half an hour passed, an hour passed...

Not to mention a thief's shadow, we didn't even see a passing little immortal child.

Lu Jun yawned, poked Jin Chen, and said, "Are you sure this method will work? I feel..."

Before he finished speaking, a startled cry came from inside the Treasure Pavilion: "Oh no! There's a thief!"

Jin Chen and Lu Jun exchanged a glance and darted inside.

"Where is the thief?!" Lu Jun shouted, a faint dragon's might emanating from him.

The little immortal child, a bit dazed, said, "Over... over there!"

Jin Chen walked in the direction he pointed.

In the corner sat a boy about ten years old, carved like jade and pink, his cheeks chubby, wearing a gold little robe, happily gnawing on a piece of red jade with a crackling sound.

Beside the child stood a person who should have been in the Main Divine Palace: Bai Ze.

In Bai Ze's hand were several chunks of spirit stone and jade material obviously gnawed, bearing tooth marks; his expression was hard to describe—like resignation, also like a calm he had long anticipated.

Jin Chen: "?"

Jin Chen's gaze darted between the boy, Bai Ze, and the stolen goods in the boy's hand, his mind momentarily unable to keep up.

No.

Jin Chen exclaimed in accusation, "Bai Ze, you pervert!"

Bai Ze: "..."

He twitched the corner of his mouth, still silent, when the boy, as if finished eating, tossed aside the red jade, sprang up and charged at Jin Chen on his short legs, shouting happily as he ran.

"Master! Master!"

Jin Chen: "!!!"

He stepped back half a pace, nearly having his soul shaken loose by that cry of "Master."

Lu Jun also accused, "... Jin Chen, you pervert."

Jin Chen: "..."

The boy had already reached him, extending his chubby little arms to hug his leg.

Jin Chen picked him up, examined him closely, and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Gun Gun!"

Jin Chen: "..."

He didn't know what to be shocked about for a moment.

Ling Gun Gun hasn't even passed infancy; logically he shouldn't have transformed so quickly.

And yet, after transforming, Ling Gun Gun looks like this.

Ling Gun Gun is the true culprit behind the recent series of incidents in the Divine Realm... No wonder! No wonder something happens every time right after he's been there—this greedy little brat must have been following him, sneaking off for a snack when he wasn't looking.

Jin Chen pinched his cheeks, saying, "It's you who's been gnawing on everyone's treasures everywhere, making me take the blame."

Ling Gun Gun, though unreasonable, was bold; it's obvious who raised him.

"I'm just hungry; Master never feeds me enough."

Jin Chen felt wronged.

"When have I ever starved you? You're not a taotie... Wait, do you know how hard you are to raise? You need to eat how much spirit stone and jade marrow every day!"

Bai Ze bent down to pick up the half‑gnawed piece of red jade on the floor, still bearing tooth marks.

He found the tooth mark cute, so he tucked it into his sleeve, then walked over, took Ling Gun Gun from Jin Chen's hands, and held him in his arms.

"Ancient divine beasts differ from ordinary ones; Gun Gun isn't fat—it's because you've been starving him all day."

"It's still young, can't control its instincts, only knowing to seek food when hungry; you ignore its needs, blame it for being greedy, and keep starving it, saying it's fat."

"I..." Jin Chen, rare to feel a bit in the wrong, but unwilling to yield, said, "Then it still can't go around gnawing everything! And it always picks the best things to chew."

Jin Chen wanted to go complain to his Master.

Accuse Bai Ze! Accuse Ling Gun Gun!

—

Jin Chen was mercilessly mocked by Lu Jun, then sulkily fought him, returning to the Main Divine Palace with his head a mess from Lu Jun's dragon claws, fuming.

Night deepened, all was quiet.

Jin Chen lay prone on the bed in the Qin Gong of the Main Divine Palace, clutching the transmission stone used to contact Chenshu, muttering, embellishing his recount of today's events.

The main accusation: Bai Ze harbored a criminal, overstepped his rank, and abducted his spirit pet.

Also, Ling Gun Gun betrayed him from within, ruined his reputation, and claimed that Ling Gun Gun had transformed into a little fat child.

Finally, he complained that his Master had been away too long, no one in the Divine Realm looked after him, and all the immortals bullied him.

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer.

Still gripping the transmission stone, the blockhead had already dozed off in a daze, the blanket only draped over his waist, one leg hanging off the bed's edge—a sleeping posture hardly proper.

At night's depth, the palace door was gently pushed open.

Chenshu returned from his patrol, saw Jin Chen sprawled spreadeagled on the bed, helplessly shook his head, walked to the bedside and sat down, helped Jin Chen out of his somewhat disheveled outer robe, then pulled the blanket over him, his fingertips brushing over Jin Chen's cheek,

As his fingertip just touched the edge of the blanket, Jin Chen blinked open his eyes in a haze.

"Master...?"

Hmm, I'm back.

Chenshu took his hand, sat down beside the bed, and naturally pulled him and the blanket into her embrace, lightly patting his back. "How did you just fall asleep like that? You didn't even tuck the blanket properly."

Jin Chen yawned, then wrapped his arms around Chenshu's waist. "Master has been gone for a long time."

Chenshu lowered her head and lightly kissed his forehead. "Tomorrow we'll send the lost spirit stones from the divine halls, and properly discipline the Pixiu and Bai Ze, okay?"

Jin Chen thought for a moment, then said, "Forget it; Zero Egg just took shape, doesn't understand things—if we're going to punish anyone, punish Bai Ze."

Who let him secretly feed Gun Gun behind my back and even help clean up its mess?

When Master isn't around, they don't listen to me.

He said it with a hint of grievance, but his tone held little true resentment—it was more like he was being coquettish.

Chenshu chuckled, her fingers threading through his hair spread on the pillow, gently combing it strand by strand. "I'll have Bai Ze prepare the Pixiu's future meals, and I'll speak to Bai Ze about it myself."

Jin Chen twirled a loose strand of Chenshu's hair around his finger. "Are the Three Thousand Worlds fun?"

Not bad.

There are a few small worlds that are quite interesting; next time, if you can calm your mind, I'll take you to see them.

Really?

Hmm.

Jin Chen was satisfied and curled back up.

After a while, he murmured softly, "Next time, bring Zero Egg along too—it just took shape; it ought to see the world."

Chenshu raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid it'll cause trouble again?"

"If it causes trouble, let it," Jin Chen declared confidently. "After all, Master is here."

Chenshu lowered her head and kissed the top of his head. "All right."

The nights in the Divine Realm are always long, long enough to hold all willfulness and tenderness.

And that piece of red jade that Bai Ze had set aside was later carefully kept by him, remaining untouched for many, many years.

Until one day, a little Pixiu cub wandered in, tilted its head, and stared for a long time.

Then it remembered.

"All right, I remember now."

"It's all in the past." Bai Ze said softly, not knowing whether he was speaking to Ling Gun Gun or to himself.

"Now rest properly; only when you've recovered can you continue following Jin Chen."

Ling Gun Gun nodded vigorously. "I want to recover quickly!"